Faculty Achievements

ATHLETIC TRAINING Richard (RJ) Boergers, PhD, ATC, Associate Professor, has published in both the Journal of Athletic Training and the International Journal of Athletic Therapy and Training, thus further contributing to the evidence base regarding emergency procedures in lacrosse. He is also the co-principal recipient of grant funding awarded by USA Lacrosse.

Leslie Rippon, MS, ATC, Assistant Professor, received a Faculty Innovation Grant from Seton Hall University to enhance the recording capability of simulation events that occur in the Interventions and Exercise Physiology/Therapeutic Exercise Labs.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY Ruth Segal, PhD, OTR, Professor and Chair, and Karen Hoover, OTD, OTR, Assistant Professor, presented “Project Write to Learn: Fostering Interprofessional Education Experiences” at the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Annual Conference in New Orleans this past April.

Mara Podvey, PhD, OTR, PMH-C, Associate Professor, co-authored a chapter titled “Best Practices in Transition Planning for Preschoolers” in a comprehensive textbook that provides best practices for occupational therapists who work with a variety of student populations.

PHYSICAL THERAPY Michael LaFountaine, EdD, ATC, Associate Professor, is an associate editor of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine.

Angela Lis, PT, PhD, CEU, Associate Professor, collaborated a Co-PI on a grant from the Spine Rehabilitation Committee, NYU Langone Medical Center titled “Phase 2: Assessment of back pain beliefs and practice preferences of Physical Therapists in an urban health care system.”

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT Jurga Marshall, DMSc, PA-C, Assistant Professor, completed her Doctor of Medical Science degree during summer 2019.

Mirela Bruza, MS, PA-C, Assistant Professor and Assistant Chair, and Vanessa Rodriguez, MS, PA-C, Director of Clinical Education, secured a grant from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Health Foundation to assist in introducing the PA profession to high school students from underrepresented populations.

SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY Kathleen Nagle, PhD, CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor, was awarded an American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (ASHF) New Investigator Research Grant ($10,000) and an ASHA Advancing Academic Research Careers (AARC) award ($5,000).

Caryn Grabowski, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, Director of Clinical Education and Instructor, was selected by the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CAPCSD) to attend the Clinical Directors Workshop.

Natalie Neubauer, MS, CCC-SLP, Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Professor, was chosen to attend ASHA’s Faculty Development Institute (AFDI), which supports Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty to develop and implement curricular enhancements that support the future of learning. One of the pillars she is focused on is advancing Interprofessional Education and Interprofessional Practice (IPE/IPP) by cultivating IPE models at the university level to prepare students to engage in interprofessional collaborative practice.

INTERPROFESSIONAL HEALTH SCIENCES AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION Stephen Wagner, PhD, FACHE, FACMPE, Assistant Professor and Executive in Residence, completed his second textbook for Health Administration Press. The text is a comprehensive review of the U.S. health care system titled An Introduction to the American Healthcare System: Focus on a Changing Environment.

Nalin Johri, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, won First Prize Poster at the annual conference of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) in New Orleans. His “Yes We CARD: Competency Assessment and Resiliency Using Dashboards” poster emphasized the MHA program’s student and course assessment techniques.

Michelle D’Abundo, PhD, Associate Professor, served as a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and math) Tank Challenge judge for the past two years. This New Jersey statewide elementary, middle and high school competition was created and is sponsored by the New Jersey School Boards Association and the U.S. Army. Participating students use problembased learning (PBL) to invent or modify existing products to solve real-life issues. The interprofessional panel of judges represented a wide variety of esteemed professionals from all over New Jersey.